This Christian Artist Just Trampled Maroon 5 to Score the Top Album in America

It’s not uncommon for bands and acts like Maroon 5 and Beyonce to top the Billboard 200 chart, but this week’s number one album comes from a unique artist who isn’t nearly as well-known as his secular counterparts — Christian rapper Lecrae.

His new album “Anomaly” opened at number one this week, selling 88,000 copies during the week ending September 14 and bumping Maroon 5′s “V” out of the top spot, according to Billboard.

Lecrae, 34, also scored the first-ever album to top both the Gospel Albums chart and the Billboard 200 — and he’s dominating the Christian Albums chart as well.

The Grammy-winning rapper has steadily made a name for himself in the Christian music world, releasing seven studio albums and starting a Christian rap and hip hop label called Reach Records — an outfit that is churning out other acts just like him.

Perhaps it’s Lecrae’s message and drive that continue to attract fans, as he remains focused on reaching audiences with a Christian message.

“A mentor told me years ago, ‘Lecrae you’re not in the widget and gimmick business, you’re in the people business. As long as you take care of people, they’ll take care of you,’” the rapper is quoted in his official bio. “So we’ve always looked at it as if we’re not trying to sell CDs, we’re trying to take care of people —Give them messages of hope and inspiration.”

While he’s most certainly a faith-based performer, Lecrae has openly said he wants his music to transcend the religious world and to reach people of all theological perspectives.

“If someone feeds a homeless man, you don’t know why he’s doing it, but the homeless person still appreciates the food,” he said. “People want to feel what you believe and not just hear it. So let’s talk about fatherlessness, let’s talk about incarceration. Let’s celebrate a relationship or a marriage or a child being born. Let’s talk about social issues.”

The rapper added, “Sure, I have a paradigm that I see the world through, but we all relate to those things and that’s where we connect.”